I'll Be Waiting
by Evee9109
Summary: He hated not being able to help her. For not having the courage to tell her how he felt.  A Sai/Sakura one-shot. Listen to the song I'll be waiting by Lenny Kravitz since that song was used as inspiration. I


I'll be waiting

**A/N: So, I came up with this little one-shot Songfic last night. Being the insomniac that I am, I had to write it down, er well type it on a note on my iPod Touch (thank you technology) otherwise I would have forgotten it by morning. I hope you all enjoy reading this. Read and Review as always. I'll try to update my other fics soon. I might write more fanfics like this, perhaps a companion song fic? I can't put the lyrics because it's against the guidelines of the site. You can listen to the song on Youtube.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters © by Masashi Kishimoto. Nor do I own the song I'll Be Waiting by Lenny Kravitz. **

**vvvv**

Sai watched her as he did almost everyday, from the moment that she left her apartment to go to work at the hospital to the moment when he saw her cross the threshold of the door. He found himself entranced by his pink haired teammate. She was in his every thought. It seemed that everything reminded him of her.

There were times when he would follow her to the training grounds and watch her train, admiring her from afar and a safe distance from her fists. He didn't want to be caught stalking her and deal with her fury. He didn't quite understand it himself of what compelled him to follow her. He couldn't understand the emotions that coursed through him when he saw her smile or when he heard her contagious laughter.

In those instances that she was happy, all he wanted to do was capture the moment with his art. So he would spend the days he didn't follow her around painting her. He would spend hours on end drawing her, from memory, trying to capture her beauty on a canvas but it was an almost impossible task.

Other times, he would run into her by chance running errands for Tsunade or hanging out with that blonde girl, Ino. All those times she would smile at him but he could see the pain behind her smile.

Sakura was surely a mystery to him. On the outside she was a strong, fierce kunoichi and a kindhearted and skilled medic but on the inside she was broken. She hid herself behind a mask of smiles but that was all an act to hide her true feelings. Perhaps that was why he had become so intrigued by the cherry blossom.

He knew that the cause of all her pain, of her heartache and sorrow was that bastard, Sasuke Uchiha. Sai couldn't help but hate Sasuke with everything he had but at the same time he envied him. Because despite everything the Uchiha still had a firm hold on Sakura's heart, his Sakura's heart.

Yes, he did think of her as his Sakura because he had come to realize that he loved her. He, Sai, loved her, Sakura. And upon coming to that realization he wanted to see her smile for him. He wanted to see a true and genuine smile on her face and not one of those fake smiles. But he felt that as long as the Uchiha held a stake on her heart, he would never see that smile. He felt damned because he knew that he looked like that Uchiha. He must remind her of him every time they crossed paths.

How he despised himself for hurting her, albeit unwillingly. He wanted nothing more than to help her. To heal her heart but he knew that only time could heal the damage in her heart.

So he stopped following her. He took missions to get away. He even went as far as to avoid her when he saw her. He didn't want to hurt her anymore. The times he couldn't avoid her, he would just try to ignore her presence. He didn't want to look her in the eyes and see her pain. He was giving her time and distance to heal her wounds.

Days passed by and with them brought a change of season. Winter had transformed into spring. Sai continued avoiding her because he thought it was the least he could do for her. Although inside he felt empty. All he wanted was to run to her side and tell her that he was here for her and he would always be. She was his friend and he wanted to be there for her like she had been for him ever since he became part of Team Seven.

Once he had seen her crying in the forest but he didn't go to her to comfort her. Instead he continued to walk away as if he hadn't seen her. He felt like a heartless man for leaving her and he felt remorse but he convinced himself that it was for the best. He would only hinder her more instead of help. He hated not being able to help her. For not having the courage to tell her how he felt.

Sometimes, he just wanted to get her out of his heart but she was in too deep. He wanted to go back to being the emotionless person that he used to be. He couldn't comprehend how one girl managed to upturn years of sealing away his emotions.

One rainy spring day, Sai came home to find her standing in front of his apartment. She was staring up at the sky and droplets of rain were trailing down her face like tears. He quickly drew an umbrella and covered her before she was completely soaked. She glanced over at him. Sai was surprised to see her standing there but not as surprised as he was when she pulled him towards her and kissed him. Her lips were soft and tasted sweet.

He kissed her back, pulling her body close. He tasted tears mixed with rain water on her lips. When they pulled apart, he questioned her. He wanted to know what was this sudden change in her. She told him that she was tired of him avoiding her. She was sick of hiding her feelings for him. He asked her if this was a joke. After all she was in love with Sasuke. She shook her head and told him that Sasuke belonged to the past. A past she wanted to forget and he was the only one she loved. They kissed again as words were unnecessary.

Sai felt Sakura smile as they kissed and his heart was filled with joy. It was in that moment that he realized that perhaps she had been home all along; she just needed a little push to help her along the way.


End file.
